


Brick

by Lenni51074



Series: Avengers Songfics [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker deserves all the hugs, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Teen Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-23 18:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18155621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenni51074/pseuds/Lenni51074
Summary: A one-shot about an unexpected development in your friendship with Peter Parker.Inspired by the song "Brick" by Ben Folds Five.





	Brick

**Author's Note:**

> Angst aplenty. So much angst.
> 
> I heard the song "Brick" and this popped into my head. So many tears were shed while I wrote this.
> 
> WARNING: This fic deals with teen pregnancy and abortion, and the emotional fallout from that. If this is likely to trigger anything for you, please don't read any further.

Peter looked at the digital clock on his bedside table. The neon numbers flashed at him. _5:58am._

_Well, I guess I’d better get up and do this._

Getting dressed hurriedly in the dark, he padded down the hallway to the elevator. Contemplating briefly, he decided against taking the lift. Instead, he headed to the stairwell and walked down the stairs to the floor below. Sticking his head through the doorway, he scanned the hallway and breathed a mental sigh of relief at the lack of movement. It seemed that everybody else was still asleep.

He entered your rooms, thankful that the two of you had unrestricted access to each other’s apartments. “Y/N?” he called softly. “Are you awake?”  
  
Not hearing a response, he started to head towards your bedroom, but paused when he noticed you curled up in a ball on the couch. You were staring blankly ahead, not noticing that he’d come in.

Gently, Peter leaned over and touched your shoulder, causing you to startle and sit up hurriedly. “Hey, it’s just me.” He held up his hands to show that he didn’t mean any harm.

“Sorry, Peter,” you whispered.

“It’s OK. I just wanted to make sure that you were awake.”  
  
“I haven’t slept.”  
  
Peter frowned. “Not even for a little bit?”  
  
You shook your head. “I couldn’t. My mind just wouldn’t stop racing.”

Taking your cold hands in his, he stared at you, concern shining out of his big brown eyes. “You don’t have to do this, you know. We can work something out.”  
  
You shook your head more violently. “No. It has to be this way. Let’s just go and get this over with.” You stood up and grabbed your bag, looking over your shoulder at your best friend. “Are you coming?”

“Of course I am.” Peter grabbed your hand and the two of you headed to the basement.

 

**********************************************

 

At any other time, Peter would have enjoyed the drive. The air was crisp and cold, and snow covered everything, making the New York countryside look like a winter wonderland. As it was the day after Christmas, there was barely any traffic on the road. He was grateful that the car Tony had given him as an 18th birthday present last year had seat warmers. The leather seats had been freezing when the two of you had hopped into the car at the Compound, but it hadn’t taken long to become toasty warm.

He glanced over at you every few minutes, squeezing your hand, but you were completely unresponsive. You stared out the window for the entire forty-five minute drive, not speaking a word.

Peter felt completely numb, almost as if someone else had taken over his body and he was watching everything unfold like a movie on a big screen. It was like standing on the outside and looking in. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how you were feeling. Even though you were sitting next to him, holding his hand, he felt completely alone. You were there in body only. Your spirit was somewhere else entirely.

Eventually, the two of you arrived at your destination. He parked the car and forced you to look at him. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Nodding numbly, you withdrew your hand from his. “Too late to back out now.”  
  
He grabbed your arm before you had a chance to open the door. “No, it’s not. We can still go back.”  
  
“Peter…”  
  
“Look, Y/N, you know I will support you one hundred per cent no matter what you decide to do. But not if you feel that you’ve been pressured into it. If you are having any doubts at all, even one, we can turn around right now and head back home.”  
  
“I’ve made up my mind, Peter. This is the right decision.”

Sighing heavily, he let go of your arm. “Alright.” He followed you out of the car and into the cold brick building.

 

**********************************************

 

Time had never moved as slowly as it did that morning. You’d been called away at seven-thirty, and Peter paced the surrounding area for what felt like hours. He had never felt as helpless as he did at this moment. Superhero or not, there was absolutely nothing he could do to make this right for you. Maybe if he could turn back time…

Yeah, right. No way would Dr Strange give up the Time Stone for something like this.

And if he really could go back in time and change things, he wasn’t sure that he would do anything differently, except to protect you better. You were his best friend. He should have done more to look out for you.

Should he get you flowers? A card? What was the right thing to do? He really wished there was an etiquette guide for this type of situation. Peter hated not knowing the correct answer to something.

Eventually you returned, even more unemotional than when you’d left him, if such a thing was possible. He wrapped you in his warm embrace, letting his love for you emanate from every pore. He felt an enormous wave of relief when you hesitantly returned his hug, your entire body trembling. Pressing a soft kiss to your temple, he whispered, “Do you need anything?”  
  
Your reply was barely audible. “Just take me home, Pete.”

Taking your hand once again, he led you back to the car. The two of you were silent for the return journey to the Compound.

 

**********************************************

 

It had been nearly a month, and it was obvious that you were not coping with the situation at all. You were practically catatonic. You stayed holed up in your rooms, curled up in the same spot on your couch day after day. On the rare occasion that you did leave your apartment, you shuffled as if you were a zombie, not noticing anyone or anything around you. You rarely spoke, responding to Peter’s conversation with toneless monosyllables, when you bothered to respond at all. You barely ate, and Peter knew for a fact that you hardly slept either. He’d been practically glued to your side, trying to keep the others from bothering you. But it was becoming more difficult every day. It was harder to make up excuses that sounded plausible.

The first couple of days after Christmas had been easy. You’d eaten too much at Christmas and were sick from overindulging. Then for New Year’s it was deemed that you’d caught a cold. Pietro and Scott had been sneezing constantly, it was no wonder you’d caught something from them. Then a few days later you were tired and recuperating from your cold.

Eventually, though, it was obvious that the rest of the team didn’t believe the lies escaping Peter’s lips. He looked like a deer in the headlights when Steve and Tony eventually cornered him in the kitchen, where he’d been heating up some chicken soup with the vain hope that he could finally convince you to eat something.

“Alright, Underoos, spill the beans,” Tony demanded.

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Mr Stark,” Peter replied. He was proud of the fact that he didn’t stammer. He’d grown much more comfortable around the others over the past year. You had been a significant part of helping him to overcome his shyness of the other heroes, pointing out what huge dorks they were in reality. It had helped him stop being so star-struck and to finally see them as actual people.

“Peter, what’s wrong with Y/N? She’s been locked in her room for weeks,” Steve said. His Eyebrows of Disappointment were out in full force.

Peter gulped. “Um, she’s not feeling well.”  
  
“Nice try, kid,” Tony said. “Time to think up a new excuse.”

He sighed. “Look, she’s just going through a rough patch at the moment. Surely you guys know what it’s like to need some alone time.”  
  
“Yeah, but not for an entire month. It’s out of character for her. She’s normally so full of life. I haven’t seen her smile since before Christmas,” Steve responded sadly. He had always felt like a big brother to you, and it broke his heart to see you so despondent without understanding the reasons behind it.

“I know. I’m trying to get her through it. She doesn’t want to see anyone else right now.” Peter knew he wasn’t actually answering their questions, but it really wasn’t his place to say anything. That had to be your decision. He’d be there for you no matter what, but he couldn’t force you to talk to the others when you were adamant that you didn’t want anybody to know.

“Peter…” Tony started.

Peter held up a hand. “I’m really sorry, Mr Stark, but Y/N asked me not to say anything and I made a promise to her. I can’t break that. Not even for you.”

Tony frowned. “You know we’re going to get to the bottom of it eventually.”  
  
“Yeah, but at least it won’t have come from me.” Peter walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two leaders of the Avengers to wonder just how they could help you when you wouldn’t let anybody know what the problem was.

 

**********************************************

 

To say that the others were surprised to see you at dinner was an understatement. It had been six weeks since Christmas, and the longest anybody had seen you was for about thirty seconds when you had raided the pantry for every block of chocolate you could find. Loki was most perturbed to discover that you knew about his secret stash.

“Y/N! It’s so good to see you again, we’ve missed you,” cried Wanda, wrapping her arms around you before you could take your seat at the table. She had been frantic about your mental state, as you’d managed to block your thoughts from her mind thanks to the techniques she’d taught you to control your anxiety.

The rest of the team also murmured their greetings. Bucky and Steve were particularly pleased to see you, almost crushing you between them in their joy. Pepper pressed a warm kiss to your cheek and hugged you fiercely.

“It’s good to see you, kiddo,” Tony beamed. “It’s been pretty boring without you.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I figured that I’d probably stared at my bedroom walls for long enough. I can be bored out here with all of you just as well as I can in my own room,” you joked weakly.

Peter took his customary seat next to you, placing a comforting hand on your knee. It had taken a lot of persuading on his part, but he’d finally managed to convince you that it would be best for your recovery to start participating in your normal activities as soon as possible. Dinner with the team seemed like a good place to start.

As the dishes were being passed around, Tony tapped on his glass to capture everyone’s attention. “Well, seeing as we are all here,” another smile in your direction, “Pepper and I have some news that we’ve been dying to share with all of you.”  
  
Pepper smiled softly. “We just needed to wait for the right time to tell everyone.”  
  
The two of them smiled lovingly at each other, causing Loki and Pietro to pretend to gag. Natasha stared at them. “Well, what is it? Don’t keep us in suspense.”

Not taking his eyes off Pepper, Tony gleefully announced, “We’re expecting a mini-Stark in about six months time.”

In all of the cries of congratulations from the others, nobody but Peter noticed the blood drain from your face. You dropped your fork on your plate with a loud clatter, standing up so hastily that your chair overturned noisily.

“Y/N, it’s alright, everything is going to be fine,” Peter said soothingly, rubbing his hand up and down your back as he stood beside you.

The team turned to look at you in confusion. “Y/N, what’s wrong?” asked Pepper.

Shaking your head, you turned and fled the kitchen, with Peter following closely at your heels.  
  
“What the hell just happened?” demanded Steve. The others stared in bewilderment at your retreating form.

 

**********************************************

 

Peter was trying to calm your hysteria, rubbing your back and whispering softly to you even as he tried to get you to control your breathing. Heaving sobs racked your body as you hugged your knees to your chest. The others found the two of you on the floor of the library, Peter hovering protectively over you as you wept.

“Can somebody please explain what the hell is going on?” Natasha demanded.

Peter stared into the eyes of the other Avengers, and then looked at you. “Y/N, sweetheart, we need to tell them.”  
  
“I can’t,” you sobbed. “I can’t.”  
  
“Yes, you can. You can’t keep going on like this. It’s killing you.”

You looked up at the rest of your family. Your self-proclaimed brothers and sisters, and Tony who had appointed himself as your unofficial dad. “They’re going to hate me, Pete,” you whispered.

“Kid, we could never hate you,” Tony assured you. “But we can’t help you either, if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”  
  
You buried your face in Peter’s chest, and he rocked you gently. He whispered something in your ear, and you nodded almost imperceptibly. Heaving a loud sigh, Peter looked at everyone. “You remember how Y/N and I went back to the city the day after Christmas?”  
  
“Yeah, you said you had some stuff to do,” Bruce confirmed.

“We did. We had to go to a clinic.”

The others looked at the two of you with confusion. “What sort of a clinic?” asked Sam slowly, while Bruce and Scott’s eyes widened in understanding.

“One that specialises in… um…”

“Oh, Peter,” cried Pepper, tears in her eyes. Wanda also started crying as she realised what Peter was saying.

“What? What sort of a clinic is he talking about? Was something wrong with Y/N?” asked Bucky in an almost panicky voice.

“The type of clinic that deals with women’s issues,” replied Natasha tonelessly. Clint swore under his breath, and Pietro swore loudly in Russian. Bucky paled, while Thor and Loki stared sadly at you and Peter.

Steve frowned. “What are you talking about, Nat?”  
  
Tony turned to the super-soldier, unshed tears glittering in his eyes. “She means that Y/N lost her baby.”

“What?” Steve stared in horror at the two teens in front of him.

“We didn’t mean for it to happen!” Peter cried. “Honestly, it was one time!”  
  
“That’s all it takes,” said Bruce sadly.

“What happened?” asked Scott softly.  
  
“It was after that big charity thing that Mr Stark had after Halloween. We both got drunk after Thor accidentally gave us some of his Asgardian mead instead of the non-alcoholic cider, and we started kissing and one thing led to another and then it just sort of… happened,” Peter finished lamely.

“Did you take advantage of her when she was drunk?” demanded Tony.

You replied softly, “No. It was totally mutual, Tony.”

“Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely surprised that this happened. You two have been kind of heading in that direction for a while,” Steve said. “I just thought you’d be more careful.”

“If we’d been more sober, we would have been. Trust me,” Peter muttered despondently.

“Did you force her to get rid of it?” Bucky asked through gritted teeth.  
  
“Peter didn’t force me to do anything, Bucky. He let me make the decision on my own, and said he’d support me no matter what. But we’ve both only just started college, and have barely even started dating. We’re way too young to even think about having kids yet.”

Pepper sat in front of both of you, taking your hands in hers. “I’m sorry that my news brought all of this up for you, sweetie, but you shouldn’t have had to deal with this on your own.”

The tears started flowing again. “I just didn’t want to disappoint all of you.”

You found yourself pulled to your feet so you could be enveloped in a group hug. “The only thing we’re disappointed about is that you didn’t feel you could tell us what was happening. We’re not disappointed that you got pregnant. It was a bit foolish, but we understand. We all remember what it’s like to be young,” said Steve.

“Speak for yourself,” quipped Bucky. “I don’t remember much of anything.”  
  
It relieved the tension, and the others were pleased to hear a soft chuckle from both yourself and Peter.

That was the first time in what felt like forever that Peter saw a tiny spark of life return to your eyes. You gave him a barely noticeable smile, and he felt a glimmer of hope that you were finally going to be alright.

It would take time, but he would be with you every step of the way. Just like always.


End file.
